CHICKS CLICK!!!

Record buyers continue to get more cluck for their buck this week, as Open Wide/Columbia/CRG’s Dixie Chicks once more crossed the road to huge sales, topping the chart with more than twice as many sales as its closest competitor, Aftermath/Interscope hip-hop bad boy Eminem. In just two weeks, the Chicks have soared over the million mark in sales.

Massive radio hits drove both Arista’s Avril Lavigne (#3), one of only three records in the Top 20 to show sales gains, and Fo’ Reel/Universal’s Nelly (#4).

The adult buyers continue to show their AmEx cards and marketplace clout. Columbia/CRG’s Bruce Springsteen (#5) is one of four Sony Music titles in the Top 10, while Blue Note/Virgin’s Norah Jones (#6) uses an 11% boost to rise to her highest spot yet with nearly 80k. Capitol’s Coldplay (#7) and Columbia/CRG’s James Taylor (#8) both continue to hold tight. Epic’s Now Vol. 10 and Ruff Ryders/Interscope’s rap diva Eve round out the Top 10.

Amazon.com’s Kevin Hawkins, who can’t see the rainforest for the trees, noticed the same trends we did. "Besides all of the airplay-driven hits at the top, the most interesting aspect of this week’s figures are the adult-leaning LPs that have used so many different ways to get to the marketplace. Word of mouth on Bruce Springsteen, Norah Jones, James Taylor and John Mayer just proves the staying power of upper-demo releases."

Other significant gainers include Aware/Columbia/CRG’s Mayer (21-15, with a 7% boost to 51k), American/Columbia’s System of a Down (34-28), Capitol’s The Vines (37-29), Geffen’s TRUSTCompany (48-35), Sugar Hill’s Nickel Creek (49-38) and Maverick’s Michelle Branch (50-42).

Jive’s Aaron Carter was the highest newcomer at #19, with the late Eva Cassidy on Rykodisc, who recently climbed to #2 on the U.K. charts, coming in at #27.

Chart re-entries included Columbia/CRG’s Amerie (24), Drive-Thru/MCA’s New Found Glory (44) and Flawless/Geffen/Interscope’s Puddle of Mudd (50).